Poetry Unit Plan Grade 3 April is Canada’s National Poetry Month. This is an excellent opportunity to have the children explore poetry and its dimensions. Many children have already had experiences with nursery rhymes, tongue twisters, and songs. A unit of free verse poetry would be a good way to help them write poetry without getting stuck on rhyme or rhythm. It is a unit that would help the children tap into their creative selves and create sensory images, express their feelings and thoughts in a safe medium, and boost their confidence with a Poetry Café performance at the end of the unit. The children will be exposed to different free verse poetry; they will emulate the different styles in their Writer’s Notebook then choose the ones they like and are comfortable sharing to further work on and polish. As a closure to the unit, the children will set up a Poetry Café performance. Integrating technology use, they will write invitations, make a program, create a poetry newsletter, and decorate the Café. This unit includes the parents and school community members’ involvement by having “Mystery Readers” come in to read their favorite poems to the children. Parents and other members of the school community can participate in the café with an original poem performance.
Poem Ideas:
“I am from”, Adjective poem, Mother’s Day poem, Heart Poem, I am Thankful for (acrostic poem), “The colors of Christmas”, Color Poem, Don’t Tell Me, free verse poem, concrete poem.
Rationale:
According to Dr. Nile Stanley, a reading specialist, researcher, and professor of education at the University of North Florida, “Poetry inspires students to read more, imagine more, think more, discuss more and write more.”
This poetry unit gives students a chance to read, understand, and respond to poetry. It also offers them an opportunity to creatively express themselves. This unit covers many of the Language Arts objectives that are related to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will understand and feel the power of words and the importance of word choice. They will learn to look beyond the written words and infer meanings. The students will listen to visualize and to ask questions in response to others, and finally they will deliver their work using proper intonation and enunciation. This unit will boost the children’s self-confidence and give them a sense of achievement.
Unit PLOs
A1 – Use speaking and listening to interact with others for the purpose of contributing to a class goal and completing a task.
B1 read fluently and demonstrate comprehension of a range of grade-appropriate literary texts, such as poems
B6 use a variety of strategies during reading and viewing to construct, monitor, and confirm meaning, including visualizing
C3 create a variety of imaginative writing and representations following patterns modelled from literature, featuring ideas developed through interesting sensory detail and experimentation with word choice by using new, unusual words and varied descriptive and sensory language
C6 use a variety of strategies after writing and representing to improve their work, including revising to enhance writing traits (e.g., ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, voice, organization) and editing for conventions (e.g., capitals, punctuation, spelling)
Learning Activities Students are immersed in different types of poetry. They have poetry books available on the shelves to read from, websites to visit, copies of poems in their reading folders. All writing lessons start with a poem read aloud.
Lesson
Objective(s): Students will
Teaching/Learning Strategies
Assessment
#1 What is Poetry?
Create an anchor chart as a whole class to explain in their own words what poetry us and the types of poetry found Read different types of poems and a share a favorite poem Students will personalize a section of their writer’s notebook for poetry writing
Watch an educational movie Brainstorming Whole class discussions Independent practice Sharing and celebrating notebook (poetry section)
Materials and Resources
BrainpopJr. Poetry movie Judith Viorst Poem “Whoop!” Writer’s Notebook
Lessons 2 to 7 are lesson with 2 to 3 days duration to go through the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing. Conferencing, publishing) .
Lesson
Objective(s): Students will
Teaching/Learning Strategies
Assessment
#2 I am Thankful for --- (Acrostic Poem)
Write an acrostic poem using a peer’s name their writer’s notebook for poetry writing
Read Aloud Analyze as a class an acrostic poem Brainstorming character traits Group work-shared practice- write an acrostic poem Independent practice- write own acrostic poem Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Formative: conferencing Peer assessment(share work and ask questions) Peer and teacher feedback: 2 stars 1 wish Summative: published work
Create an adjectives anchor chart Write an adjective poem that describes a noun following a certain outline
Read Alouds Whole class create an anchor chart Analyze as a class an adjective poem Group work-shared practice- write an adjective poem Independent practice- write own adjective poem Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Formative: conferencing Peer assessment(share work and ask questions) Summative: published work following adjective poem outline
Materials and Resources
“Many Luscious Lollipops” by Ruth Heller
“Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst “Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins” poem+ 2 more adjective poems (Bugs, Bugs, Bugs & Pickles, Pickles, Pickles)
Create an anchor chart about similes. Write a mother’s day simile poem
Create a simile anchor chart. Examine models of simile poems written by previous years’ students Group work-make a list of similes Independent practice- write own simile poem Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Formative: conferencing Peer assessment(share work and ask questions) Summative: published work
Create an anchor chart about visualizing and using the 6 senses (touch, hear, taste, see, listen and feel) Create images through precise language -Create a Color Poem using their 6 senses
Create a visualizing using the 6 senses anchor chart. Examine a color poem and look at its components. Write a poem as a class Independent practice- write own color poem Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Formative: conferencing Peer assessment(share work and ask questions) Feedback Summative: published work
Materials and Resources
Read.Write.Think color poem www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson.../PoemExamples.pdf with modifications Black From the book Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Poetry and Colorby Mary O'Neill and John Wallner “The Black Book of Color” by Menena Cottin previous students’ color poems Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Folder
Orange author unknown
Orange
Orange is feeling in your stomach after an orange soda quenched your thirst.
Orange is the sun after a summer day.
Orange is the sound of a field filled with dandelions blowing in the wind.
Orange is the taste of a pizza that just came out of the oven.
Orange is the sound of a busy bumblebee.
Orange is the taste of cold glass of orange juice.
Orange is the feeling inside you when you accomplish something.
Orange is the sound of a tomato plant growing.
Orange is the color of a carrot that just popped out of the ground.
Orange is the smell of a Tiger-Lily petal.
Orange is the feeling after a baby smiles.
Orange is the color of a brown beaver's incisor.
Orange is the smell of a late July day.
Orange is the feeling of a puppy's fur.
Orange is the color of peach marmalade on a side of toast.
Orange is the sound of a canoe paddling through shallow water.
And orange is a color that is safe and alive color.
Lesson
Objective(s): Students will
Teaching/Learning Strategies
Assessment
#6 Don't Tell Me
Write a poem in which the students can express their frustrations and their hopes
Mini-lesson on features of poem Brainstorming ideas (whole class) Teacher models/writes a poem Independent writing of poems Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Formative: conferencing Peer assessment(share work and ask questions, feedback: 2 star 1 wish) Summative: published work
Materials and Resources
Don’t Tell Me example from previous years Don’t Tell me outline Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Folder
Lesson
Objective(s): Students will
Teaching/Learning Strategies
Assessment
#7 Free Verse
Write prose rich in imagery and broken up with line breaks instead of punctuation and paragraphing.
Mini-lesson on features of free verse\ Teacher models (Brainstorming ideas. writing, and making line breaks) Whole Class Brainstorming, writing and making line breaks Students work individually on own free verse. Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Formative: conferencing Peer assessment(share work and ask questions) Summative: published work
Organize a poetry café by organizing committees to
Write invitations
Decorate the classroom
Organize food
Entertainment (technology committee)
Reception committee+ handout committee (compiling program and poems
Teacher as a facilitator. Students have to decide amongst themselves on the finer details. Teacher will provide the time, the requested materials and the needed scheduling.
Bibliography
Teacher Resources for planning Baron, L., & Skeans, S. (1999). The write direction. Parsippany, N.J.: Modern Curriculum Press.
Fletcher, R. J., & Portalupi, J. (1998). Craft lessons: teaching writing K-8. York, Me.: Stenhouse Publishers.
Kemper, D., & Nathan, R. G. (2002). Write away: a handbook for young writers and learners. Wilmington, Mass.: Write Source/Great Source Education Group, Houghton Mifflin.
Poetry Units. (n.d.). edHelper.com - Math, Reading Comprehension, Themes, Lesson Plans, and Printable Worksheets. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.edhelper.com/poetry/poetry_units.htm
Routman, R. (2005). Writing essentials: raising expectations and results while simplifying teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Resources to Use in class with the children(mentor texts, websites to look at, movies) How to Write a Free Verse Poem :Poetry for Kids. (n.d.). Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry for Kids . Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/news/how-to-write-a-free-verse-poem
Viorst, J., & Hull, R. (1995). Sad underwear: and other complications more poems for children and their parents. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Writing Fun. (n.d.). Writing Fun. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from www.writingfun.com/writingfun.swf
Grade 3
April is Canada’s National Poetry Month. This is an excellent opportunity to have the children explore poetry and its dimensions. Many children have already had experiences with nursery rhymes, tongue twisters, and songs. A unit of free verse poetry would be a good way to help them write poetry without getting stuck on rhyme or rhythm. It is a unit that would help the children tap into their creative selves and create sensory images, express their feelings and thoughts in a safe medium, and boost their confidence with a Poetry Café performance at the end of the unit. The children will be exposed to different free verse poetry; they will emulate the different styles in their Writer’s Notebook then choose the ones they like and are comfortable sharing to further work on and polish. As a closure to the unit, the children will set up a Poetry Café performance. Integrating technology use, they will write invitations, make a program, create a poetry newsletter, and decorate the Café.
This unit includes the parents and school community members’ involvement by having “Mystery Readers” come in to read their favorite poems to the children. Parents and other members of the school community can participate in the café with an original poem performance.
Poem Ideas:
“I am from”, Adjective poem, Mother’s Day poem, Heart Poem, I am Thankful for (acrostic poem), “The colors of Christmas”, Color Poem, Don’t Tell Me, free verse poem, concrete poem.
Rationale:
According to Dr. Nile Stanley, a reading specialist, researcher, and professor of education at the University of North Florida, “Poetry inspires students to read more, imagine more, think more, discuss more and write more.”
This poetry unit gives students a chance to read, understand, and respond to poetry. It also offers them an opportunity to creatively express themselves. This unit covers many of the Language Arts objectives that are related to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will understand and feel the power of words and the importance of word choice. They will learn to look beyond the written words and infer meanings. The students will listen to visualize and to ask questions in response to others, and finally they will deliver their work using proper intonation and enunciation. This unit will boost the children’s self-confidence and give them a sense of achievement.
Unit PLOs
A1 – Use speaking and listening to interact with others for the purpose of contributing to a class goal and completing a task.
B1 read fluently and demonstrate comprehension of a range of grade-appropriate literary texts, such as poems
B6 use a variety of strategies during reading and viewing to construct, monitor, and confirm meaning, including visualizing
C3 create a variety of imaginative writing and representations following patterns modelled from literature, featuring ideas developed through interesting sensory detail and experimentation with word choice by using new, unusual words and varied descriptive and sensory language
C6 use a variety of strategies after writing and representing to improve their work, including revising to enhance writing traits (e.g., ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, voice, organization) and editing for conventions (e.g., capitals, punctuation, spelling)
Learning Activities
Students are immersed in different types of poetry. They have poetry books available on the shelves to read from, websites to visit, copies of poems in their reading folders. All writing lessons start with a poem read aloud.
Read different types of poems and a share a favorite poem
Students will personalize a section of their writer’s notebook for poetry writing
Brainstorming
Whole class discussions
Independent practice
Sharing and celebrating notebook (poetry section)
Judith Viorst Poem “Whoop!”
Writer’s Notebook
Lessons 2 to 7 are lesson with 2 to 3 days duration to go through the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing. Conferencing, publishing) .
(Acrostic Poem)
Analyze as a class an acrostic poem
Brainstorming character traits
Group work-shared practice- write an acrostic poem
Independent practice- write own acrostic poem
Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Peer assessment(share work and ask questions)
Peer and teacher feedback: 2 stars 1 wish
Summative: published work
http://www.writingfun.com/WFMOV/poetry.swf
“Silver Seeds”by Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer
Sample acrostic poem
Writer’s Notebook
Writer’s Folder
Write an adjective poem that describes a noun following a certain outline
Whole class create an anchor chart
Analyze as a class an adjective poem
Group work-shared practice- write an adjective poem
Independent practice- write own adjective poem
Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Peer assessment(share work and ask questions)
Summative: published work following adjective poem outline
“Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst
“Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins” poem+ 2 more adjective poems (Bugs, Bugs, Bugs &
Pickles, Pickles, Pickles)
Poem Outline Handouts
Writer’s Notebook
Writer’s Folder
(My Mother)
Write a mother’s day simile poem
Examine models of simile poems written by previous years’ students
Group work-make a list of similes
Independent practice- write own simile poem
Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Peer assessment(share work and ask questions)
Summative: published work
Read.Write.Think **Simile Poem Brainstorm** handout (adapted to 6 traits instead of 7)
http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/spoon/similes.php
previous students’ simile poems
Crazy Like a Fox’ A Simile Story by Loreen Leedy
Writer’s Notebook
Writer’s Folder
Create images through precise language
-Create a Color Poem using their 6 senses
Examine a color poem and look at its components.
Write a poem as a class
Independent practice- write own color poem
Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Peer assessment(share work and ask questions)
Feedback
Summative: published work
Black From the book Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Poetry and Colorby Mary O'Neill and John Wallner
“The Black Book of Color” by Menena Cottin
previous students’ color poems
Writer’s Notebook
Writer’s Folder
Orange author unknown
Orange
Orange is feeling in your stomach after an orange soda quenched your thirst.
Orange is the sun after a summer day.
Orange is the sound of a field filled with dandelions blowing in the wind.
Orange is the taste of a pizza that just came out of the oven.
Orange is the sound of a busy bumblebee.
Orange is the taste of cold glass of orange juice.
Orange is the feeling inside you when you accomplish something.
Orange is the sound of a tomato plant growing.
Orange is the color of a carrot that just popped out of the ground.
Orange is the smell of a Tiger-Lily petal.
Orange is the feeling after a baby smiles.
Orange is the color of a brown beaver's incisor.
Orange is the smell of a late July day.
Orange is the feeling of a puppy's fur.
Orange is the color of peach marmalade on a side of toast.
Orange is the sound of a canoe paddling through shallow water.
And orange is a color that is safe and alive color.
Brainstorming ideas (whole class)
Teacher models/writes a poem
Independent writing of poems
Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Peer assessment(share work and ask questions, feedback: 2 star 1 wish)
Summative: published work
Don’t Tell me outline
Writer’s Notebook
Writer’s Folder
Teacher models (Brainstorming ideas. writing, and making line breaks)
Whole Class Brainstorming, writing and making line breaks
Students work individually on own free verse.
Sharing and celebrating (Author’s Chair)
Peer assessment(share work and ask questions)
Summative: published work
Writer’s Notebook
Writer’s Folder
Bibliography
Teacher Resources for planning
Baron, L., & Skeans, S. (1999). The write direction. Parsippany, N.J.: Modern Curriculum Press.
Fletcher, R. J., & Portalupi, J. (1998). Craft lessons: teaching writing K-8. York, Me.: Stenhouse Publishers.
Kemper, D., & Nathan, R. G. (2002). Write away: a handbook for young writers and learners. Wilmington, Mass.: Write Source/Great Source Education Group, Houghton Mifflin.
Poetry Units. (n.d.). edHelper.com - Math, Reading Comprehension, Themes, Lesson Plans, and Printable Worksheets. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.edhelper.com/poetry/poetry_units.htm
Routman, R. (2005). Writing essentials: raising expectations and results while simplifying teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Resources to Use in class with the children(mentor texts, websites to look at, movies)
How to Write a Free Verse Poem :Poetry for Kids. (n.d.). Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry for Kids . Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/news/how-to-write-a-free-verse-poem
Arthur . Games . Fern's Poetry Club | PBS Kids. (n.d.). PBS KIDS: Educational Games, Videos and Activities For Kids!. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/poetry/free_verse.html
BrainPOP Jr. | Reading and Writing | Learn about Poems. (n.d.). BrainPOP Jr. - K-3 Educational Movies, Quizzes, Lessons, and More!. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.brainpopjr.com/readingandwriting/writing/poems/preview.weml
Cottin, M., Faria, R., & Amado, E. (2008). The black book of colors. Toronto: Groundwood Books.
Funny poetry for children. (n.d.). Funny poetry for children. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
O'Neill, M. L., Weisgard, L., & Egolf, R. L. (1961). Hailstones and halibut bones: adventures in color. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co..
Silverstein, S. (1981). A light in the attic. New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row.
Silverstein, S. (2004). Where the sidewalk ends: the poems & drawings of Shel Silverstein. (30th anniversary special ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
Theme Poems. (n.d.). Homepage - ReadWriteThink. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/theme_poems/
Viorst, J., & Hull, R. (1995). Sad underwear: and other complications more poems for children and their parents. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Writing Fun. (n.d.). Writing Fun. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from www.writingfun.com/writingfun.swf